In today's world, mobility is an important factor. Therefore, most people have a motor vehicle of their own. Each motor vehicle typically has one or more motor vehicle ignition keys associated with the motor vehicle. There are different embodiments of motor vehicle ignition keys. While motor vehicle ignition keys used to consist, in former times, only of a key bit with a key body, some of them nowadays have complex electronic circuits. Immobilizers in modern motor vehicles constituted a first step toward integrating electronics into a motor vehicle ignition key. This involves adding only a small RFID transponder to the key, which at start-up of the motor vehicle performs, in combination with an RFID reading device within the motor vehicle, an authentication for starting up the motor vehicle. In addition to the immobilizer, most modern motor vehicle ignition keys have a remote-control function for opening the doors of the motor vehicle; while remote controls used to transmit their data to the motor vehicle via infrared in former times, this nowadays has been almost entirely replaced by UHF radio transmission. A motor vehicle ignition key having an RFID transponder built therein is given a serial number of its own. This enables the motor vehicle to identify the motor vehicle user and to adjust the motor vehicle to suit the motor vehicle user. For example, the sitting position and minor settings may be adapted to the respective motor vehicle user. In addition, vehicle-specific data, for example the serial number of the vehicle, but also data relevant to maintenance such as the mileage or error codes, for example, may be stored on the motor vehicle ignition keys. Said data may be read out by a specialist workshop and be read out as a basis for a quick diagnosis.
Another technical innovation in the automotive field are motor vehicle navigation devices. Motor vehicle navigation devices increasingly replace the reading of maps, which is awkward. Whereas itineraries had to be planned ahead with the help of maps in former times, nowadays it is sufficient to input a destination into a navigation device. Navigation devices are able to find an optimum route from a starting point to a selected destination while taking into account a variety of conditions. The navigation device may adapt the route in dependence on the user's desires. For example, the user has the choice between the shortest and the fastest route. Modern navigation devices additionally have extensive data bases wherein the addresses of important places are stored. These may be car parks, railway stations, airports, but also restaurants or places of interest. Navigation devices exist in a variety of embodiments and ranges of functions. Currently, there are navigation devices that are fixedly built into a motor vehicle, and navigation devices that are portable and may be retrofitted into any motor vehicle.
Today, cars are the preferential means of locomotion for most people—irrelevant of whether one undertakes a long holiday trip or drives to the bakery at the corner. Modern man does not move anymore, or at least not more than he absolutely has to. This behavior results in numerous “diseases of affluence”: obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and (as a result) cardiovascular diseases, which are greatly favored by lack of exercise. Even though modern man longs for a healthy and well-trained body, realization of such good intentions fails mostly because of the laziness or indolence threshold to be overcome (“one's weaker self”). Due to the demographic change, life-long prevention is indispensable so as to maintain a high quality of life even at an advanced age. Therefore, more regular exercise would be useful for many people. In competitive sports, systems for monitoring the physical fitness of an athlete have been used for quite some time. There are pulse sensors, for example, but also movement sensors, which record the athlete's movement. Nowadays, said systems are also available to amateur athletes. For example, there are systems for pulse measurement that consist of a chest strap and a watch. However, said systems do not provide any information about the distance traveled. A simple system for logging the distance traveled are mechanical pedometers. They have the disadvantage, among other things, that they are imprecise and do not take into account the variations in the step length. Another possibility of logging movement data are movement sensors which record a user's movements with the help of a 3D acceleration sensor. Said sensors may be attached close to the body and detect any movements during sport. A disadvantage of all of these devices is that they are designed for passionate amateur or competitive athletes. Prior to the beginning of any sportive activity, said devices are first applied to the athlete's body and/or be activated. Everyday movements, such as walking to the car or climbing stairs at home or at the office, are typically not detected by this system, since users do not want to burden themselves with additional devices in everyday life. A further disadvantage is that particularly people who are not enthusiastic about sports hardly have any interest in such additional products, and that consequently, they do not have any information about their everyday movements. However, with these people, said everyday movements are often the only sportive activities performed.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,373,820 shows a basic principle and a general application for detecting human movement activity.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,160,478 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,658,292 show examples of activity monitoring devices for medical applications and/or for patient care as portable and implantable sensors.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,512,515 shows examples of detecting human movement activities in leisure-time applications and/or lifestyle scenarios.